The Fashion Doll Chronicles: 2015

Showing posts with label 2015. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Defiant Rayna designed by Jason Kramer, winner of 2015 Integrity Toys convention design contest, available for preorder

Last year at the Cinematic Integrity Toys convention, there was the Official Integrity Toys Advanced Design competition. The winner was Jason Kramer with Defiant, modelled by a Natalia Fashion Royalty doll. The winning design, picked by the members of the Integrity Toys design team, after adjustments to make it production ready while preserving the spirit of Jason's original design, is now ready for preorder. A major change is that instead of Natalia, the doll wearing the outfit is now Rayna. W Club members can pre-order as many dolls as they like, so the total edition size will be based on how many pre-orders are received. The doll is also available for the general public to preorder, you can click on this link.

Item # 82076
Defiant
Rayna™ Dressed Doll
The NU. Face™ Collection
2015 Design Competition Award Doll by Jason Kramer
Limited Edition Size: TBA
Estimated Ship Date: January/February 2017
Special W Club Price: $135.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
General Public Price: $145.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax.
*W Club members will have to pay a non-refundable deposit of $20.00 at pre-order to reserve their doll (s); the balance of $115.00 + shipping and handling (and tax for Maryland residents) will be due approximately January/February 2017.

Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Rayna™
Body Type: NU. Face 2.0
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Hungarian
Hair Color: Golden Bronze
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied

Rayna™ is a 12.5-inch fully articulated vinyl fashion doll with long, silky fully rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes. Her look that can be worn multiple ways is composed of a high-contrast custom printed removable plaid skirt over high-waisted capris and a black micro sequined sleeveless top, finished with a multi-strand chain necklace, oversized hoop earrings, cuff bracelets, high-heels and a clutch purse. A doll stand and a numbered certificate of authenticity is also included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

Hmmm... Rayna is one of the rarest Integrity Toys sculpts, first premiered as an unknown doll wearing an outfit for sale and has only been released as part of conventions or special events, while lately she appeared as part of an ITBE collection but in a dark skin tone. I was looking forward for a more easily available version of hers and now she's here. But she does not look like Rayna at all. Look at the photo below and tell me you'd recognise the same character if no one told you who it was.

I do not know why the designers picked this particular doll to use the small, slanted eye design but it is a total disaster - it is not Rayna. So, while the outfit is gorgeous and I'd love to have it in my collection, the doll will keep me off buying it. We were informed that she has painted eyes so I cannot attribute the look to the newly available, and much discussed, decal eyes that the company used on some dolls. It is a major disappointment for me. I know some people will pre-order her in the hope that Integrity will redesign the eyes but I cannot commit like this. And no one should have to.

So who is the talented Jason Kramer? He began working in design straight out of college, where he majored in Theatre Arts, with an emphasis in Costume design. He has designed costumes for both theatre and dance productions, and now works as Artistic Director and Lead Designer at a costume design company that specializes in custom made dance wear. When he's not working, he spends most of his free time with his husband James and their dog Apollo in their Long Beach, California home.

The inspiration for this design was grunge fashion, with a more contemporary and chic interpretation. He collects dolls for the last 15 years. His favourite era of fashion is the Dior New Look. Favourite IT sculpts include Eugenia, Natalia, Elyse and Tulabelle.

Jason Kramer

The winning design as sketched by Jason

Are you pre-ordering Defiant? What do you think of her? Let me know in the comments.

Note: Pictures of prototype shown; final production colors and textures may vary slightly. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2016 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

Fashion Royalty and all related characters are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. and JWU LLC. All rights reserved.

Graphics and Layouts by Alain Tremblay Marketing. Photography by Jayme Thornton

Saturday, December 19, 2015

FInal W Club exclusive for 2015 is in the trunk (literally)!

As it is the 10th anniversary of the W Club, it could not let the year go out without a bang! The final club exclusive doll was announced to its members and it is a stunner. Hearkening back to the good old days of the early gorgeous gift-sets from Integrity Toys, Elyse Jolie will be available to pre-order (members only of course) until the 5th of January 2016, in a fabulous gift set called J'Adore La Fête. It includes an evening gown, a suit and lingerie, and it is packed inside a lovely suitcase.

Item # 91387
J'Adore La Fête
Elyse Jolie™ Dressed Doll Gift Set
The Fashion Royalty™ Collection
2015 W Club Exclusive
Limited Edition Size: TBA
Estimated Ship Date: Late Spring / Early Summer 2016
Regular W Club Price: $225.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
Special W Club 10th Anniversary Price: $175.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
*A non-refundable deposit of $25.00 due immediately at pre-order, balance of $150.00 + shipping and handling (and tax for Maryland residents) due approximately late Spring/early Summer 2016.

Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpts: Elyse Jolie
Body Type: FR2013
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Colors: Raven
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied

Elyse Jolie is a 12.5-inch fully articulated vinyl fashion doll with a fully rooted hairstyle and hand-applied eyelashes. This gift set includes three complete outfits for Elyse: a lingerie set, a two-piece suit and a gown. A jewellery set, a clutch purse and two pairs of faux-leather shoes are packaged in a carry-on trunk. A doll stand is also included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

She is gorgeous! Only the second Elyse in FR White skin tone (the first was a convention workshop edition), she has the A Fashionable Life screening but (unfortunately) not the hair style. The dress top half looks a lot like a Dior gown worn by Charlise Theron at the 2014 Oscar Awards ceremony:

The colouring and style of the gown also remind me of Born To Gamble Kyori:

Her "tweed"suit looks like Chanel, even with the flounce - I'd rather have it with a longer pencil skirt though. Her bag does not look like something extraordinary but we will see when she arrives (end of Spring 2016). There is only that one bag unfortunately, the suit really needs another one - it has its own shoe pair, why not another bag? A miniature version of the trunk would have been great.

Love the jewellery too, and the lingerie looks great as well (although I have enough black lingerie sets from Integrity by now). A welcome return to luxurious gift sets for Integrity, after the lame one that was Veronique this spring.

Pictures of prototype shown; final production colours and textures may vary slightly. Dress form and other staging props are not included. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2015 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Integrity Toys convention 2015: Cinematic Part IX: The W Club luncheon

One of the most sought after events of the convention each year is the W Club members-only luncheon. Attendees that are not part of the W Club cannot attend and everyone is eager to find out details about the next year's collections that are unveiled on the luncheon. Each member who opted to attend received the opportunity to purchase a Veronique Perrin centerpiece doll from the Fashion Royalty Collection and each member then received a basic Eden doll as a thank you gift for attending the lunch. In addition to an interview with the W Club's own Carol Roth, David Buttry returned to the stage to sneak peek a brand new line- The Industry- featuring a 12" version of Tulabelle that will officially début next year. Yes. you read it correctly, Tulabelle is turning 12". Is this a sign for the other 16" doll lines of Integrity too? Vaughn and Alain also talked about how the dolls of IT are made.

Item # 91380
Stage Presence
Véronique Perrin® Dressed Doll (W Club Luncheon Centerpiece)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 450 Dolls

For me this is one of the three best dolls in the convention - the other two being Nadja and Agnes. She looks like Jean Harlow. In real life photos, the hair look longer than shown here though, which is a minus. Brilliant doll.

Item # 82062
Sneak Peek Eden™ Dressed Doll (Giveaway Souvenir)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

Another Eden (counting the cocktail ITBE as an Eden), she looks like Vero's daughter as they share the same colouring. Wonder what Hollywood link is there in these underwear. Casting couch outfit?

Note: The dolls shown are prototypes and final versions may vary slightly. All doll photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2015 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Integrity Toys convention 2015: Cinematic Part VII: Thursday night gala dolls

Everyone attending was able to finally get together for a delicious meal and see their friends, old and new during Thursday night's gala. Stage hosts Carol Roth and Alain Tremblay offered lucky guests at each table the chance to own the fabulous Adele Makeda centerpiece and then played the stage game with the audience. At the end of the evening, everyone received a Nadja doll from the Nu.Face collection absolutely free, as a souvenir doll.

Item # 91378
Time and Again
Adèle Makéda® Dressed Doll (Thursday Dinner Centerpiece)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 450 Dolls

I like her a lot - she's probably in my top-5 or 6 dolls from the convention. In real life photos of her from the convention though, the face looks a bit strange. Could be the eyeliner or the eyeshadow. Would not say not if I'd won her. Love the jewellery.

Item # 82061
Out of Sight
Nadja R.™ Dressed Doll (Giveaway Souvenir)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

For me this is the best doll of the convention, even though she's one of the simpler dressed ones. What a face! Channelling Grace Jones in James Bond, Nadja rocks with flocked hair like her previous favourite incarnation (Urban Outfitting) and Muse Adele, two of my most favourite dolls. And she should take pride of place next to them, no?

Integrity Toys convention 2015: Cinematic Part VI: The IT Store Direct collection

This year, in addition to the convention collection and the Style Lab collection, convention guests could purchase five new exciting dolls in the IT sales room, through IT Direct.

Item # 91384
Idol Worship Kyori Sato™ Dressed Doll
(Sales Room Exclusive)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

Beautiful and glamorous Kyori doll. She reminds me of Ava Gardner.

Item # 82065
First Blush
Ayumi N.™ Dressed Doll (Sales Room Exclusive)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

Simple and elegant, Ayumi at her most versatile. Was expecting her a bit more oriental and cinematic, with a qipao or something similar though. She has a bag, which is rare for convention dolls.

Item # 82066
Evening Blossom
Dominique Makéda™ Dressed Doll (Sales Room Exclusive)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

Hmmmm... Halle Berry as Catwoman? Wonder what star she is channelling. Beautiful.

Update - Storm and Shawn commented that this is Rihanna inspired. I googled and came up with this:

Pity they couldn't make the exact same hairstyle, it looks fantastic on the singer. Thanks readers!

Item # PP093
Traveling Incognito
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll (Sales Room Exclusive)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

She could be Ann Margaret. Lovely Poppy, for me the best Poppy of the convention.

Item # PP095
Come Live With Me
Nigel North™ Dressed Doll (Sales Room Exclusive)
Cinematic: The 2015 Integrity Toys Convention Collection
Limited Edition of 600 Dolls

Second best guy of the convention for me. What a contrast to his previous incarnation. Brilliant.

Integrity Toys convention 2015: Cinematic Part IV: Color Infusion Style Lab Collection

This year's Color Infusion Style Lab at the Cinematic Convention designer Vaughn Sawyers was inspired by old Hollywood and each character offered at the event represents one specific movie star of the golden era of Hollywood. The collection has a new look and new packaging designed to protect the dolls instead of the bags they used to come in. It is composed of 12 dolls and 12 separate outfits. And this year the edition size per style is 600 pieces across the board. This was decided to ensure that each convention guest would get an equal chance to own one of each of these exciting characters, as in previous years there has been a lot of grief from people who were not able to secure their preferred characters and styles (usually Declan).

Monroe Jillian wearing Outfit Golden Moment. Clearly Marilyn Monroe and a combination of two iconic outfits of hers, one gold and one silver, both designed by Travilla.

The doll outfit is actually two separates, a bodysuit and a skirt.

Up next is Jaeme Costas wearing outfit Mine All Mine. I'm guessing 30s and Adrian but the star eludes me. Anyone?

The next doll is Fan Xi wearing outfit Dark Victory. The doll is a Fan Bing Bing clone and the outfit's name is a Bette Davis film title from 1939, with costumes by Orry Kelly, but I do not remember it in the film. The outfit consists again of bodysuit and skirt.

Fabiana Diaz is shown wearing Outfit Shanghai Bound. The original film is from 1927 and the silent era. The very few images that exist on-line are not relevant to the outfit, which looks more 70s inspired.

The next doll is Adaline King wearing the outfit named Passion. This one was easy - Elisabeth Taylor inspired. It is again a two piece ensemble, bodysuit and skirt.

Taylor wore a similar outfit in 1962 to receive her David di Donatello Award for her performance as Catherine in “Suddenly, Last Summer” .

Dree Hill wearing outfit Rebel Desire is a piece of cake to identify if you are a Grease fan like me. It is the outfit Rizzo is wearing during the Summer Nights number. Mattel has done it as an exact copy for their Grease dolls but the pink jacket turned to purple here. The doll though is a dark Marilyn, gorgeous.

Here come the men, always really popular with collectors. First up is Tobias Alsford wearing the outfit Stars In Your Eyes, Tobias could be Sidney Poitier and the outfit's name is actually the title of a 1956 British musical.